Queer Naija Lit: “Under the Udala Trees” Honors the Past and Paints the Future With Hope
In light of current conditions for queer Nigerians — and global conditions facing queer people — a book like 2015’s Under the Udala Trees is ever-timely.
Nicola Griffith’s Spear Is a Gender-Bending, Queer Arthurian Adventure
There’s magic! There’s sword fights! It’s Mulan meets Merlin with a healthy helping of sapphic romance.
Chris Belcher’s “Pretty Baby” Examines the Power of Shame in Our Culture
You don’t have to look very closely to see that shame is one of the foremost organizing principles of our society.
In the Sexy and Smart New Novel “Sirens & Muses,” the Art World Is Hell
The chaotic art school tale is a confident debut from Antonia Angress.
This Gay Ocean Horror Book Is So Good I Want To Scream
Our Wives Under The Sea is queer horror at its finest.
This Sporty Queer YA Novel Is the Best Book I’ve Read in Years
In last year’s Like Other Girls, Britta Lundin creates a heartwarming depiction of queer mentorship and intergenerational queer friendship.
Gay History, Mystery, and Romance Abound in Latest Thrilling Vera Kelly Adventure
Set in 1971, Vera Kelly: Lost and Found takes the series’ titular P.I. from post-Stonewall NYC to the sprawling land of Southern California, where she must solve her most personal case ever: the disappearance of her girlfriend.
“Queerly Beloved” Is a Love Letter to Tulsa and Chosen Family
The queer baking romance has Tulsa at its core.
“I Feel Love: Notes On Queer Joy” Reminds Us That Suffering Is Not Our Destiny
Queerness doesn’t have to be a burden. That’s what I wish I could tell my younger, lonely, and confused self.
“Brown Neon” Is a Tribute to the Power of Art and Community in the American Southwest
Over the course of these ten essays, Raquel Gutiérrez skillfully maps the realities, struggles, and joys of queer, Latinx, artistic life in the Southwest U.S.
In Their Debut Romance, Akwaeke Emezi Writes a Kind of Love I Recognize
The friendship central to You Made a Fool of Death with Your Beauty is as important as the romance.
“Yerba Buena” Is the Perfect Book To Bask in This Summer
Yerba Buena accomplishes in one novel what Sally Rooney attempted in three. And I say this as an on-the-record devoted Rooney Tune!
Revisiting “The Faggots and Their Friends Between Revolutions,” 45 Years Later
I didn’t know this book at all until a few months ago. I borrowed it thinking it’d be hilarious to read in public spaces and have people give me questionable stares. That mentality was replaced by the desire to build bridges.
With Characters From Middle School to Middle Age, This LGBTQ Short Fiction Collection Has the Range
In resisting the tidiness of a happy ending, Conklin demonstrates something profound and important that made me cry at several of these stories.
In “How To Be Eaten,” Fairytales and Reality TV Are Twisted Sisters
The new novel takes classic fairytales and a Bachelor-like reality show and twines them into a fresh tale of wronged women.
“Exalted” Review: A Delusional Astrologer and a Bad Gay Mom’s Stars Collide, Chaos Ensues
Exalted — a riotous new novel from Anna Dorn — is exquisite chaos.
Queer Naija Lit: Akwaeke Emezi’s Poetry Collection Makes Space for Many Selves
This is a book to be read and re-read, like all true stories.
In Our Own Time: Queer Temporality, Pride, and Diana Goetsch’s “This Body I Wore”
Lately I’ve been thinking about the concept of “straight time” — the way a life unfolds, or is expected to unfold, within heteronormative frameworks.
“Voice of the Fish” Examines the Slippery Nature of Bodies
It’s so hard to have a body. Isn’t it?
“The J Girls” Review: Sex, Fire Sauce, and Growing Up in the 90s
The poetry collection is quite a refreshing portrayal of Midwestern teenage girlhood — more focused on exploring the messiness of truth than pleasantries.